BRADENTON, Fla. -- As the controversy surrounding the Astros and commissioner Rob Manfred continues to grow, more and more players have spoken out against Manfred's ruling that no Astros players were punished for stealing signs from 2017-2018.
This is in no small part due to a botched apology by Astros players and leadership and Manfred's contentious press conference this past Sunday.
On Wednesday, Jameson Taillon, the Pirates' representative in the Major League Baseball Players Association, weighed in.
"Players are angry at the Astros and what happened in 2017, but I think they're also angry that there's not really a direction right now with where we're going with this," Taillon said at his locker before workouts. "...I think it's up to players now to direct where we go from here. Players drive the game, and if we want this type of thing to stop going forward, we have to stop it."
This week, 2019 MVPs Mike Trout and Cody Bellinger both expressed their displeasure that the Astros players went unpunished.
"Those are pretty quiet dudes who mind their own business," Taillon said. "For guys like that to start speaking out, that shows you that it is a problem and guys do care."
Manfred offered immunity to all Astros players for honest testimonials during the investigation. As Taillon notes, it would have been hard to get the facts without offering protection.
"That doesn't necessarily make it right or wrong," Taillon said.
On Sunday, Manfred said he did not strip the Astros of their 2017 World Series -- despite him knowing they continued to steal signs into the postseason -- because “asking for a piece of metal back seems like a futile idea.”
Taillon took issue with that choice of words.
"I hope he's not discrediting the World Series trophy because that's why guys play the game. There's no other reason to play other than to win."
Manfred has since apologized for that comment.
• In other Taillon news, he threw from 90 feet for the first time Wednesday, another step in his journey back from Tommy John surgery.
• The Pirates suspected teams were stealing signs last year, so they went to great lengths to make sure other teams did not know what pitch was coming, using multiple sets of signs.
Manfred has stated he believes the punishment to the Astros will deter players from stealing signs, and that there could be new restrictions on in-game videos.
Despite those assurances, Jacob Stallings told me he doesn't "anticipate doing much differently" this year with the team's signs.
"There are other ways to get people's signs," he said. "It's definitely not just technology."
• Director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk met with the media Wednesday. After saying last week he expected Gregory Polanco to be healthy, everything looked good after his physical.
After watching Polanco on the field and in the cage this week, I can say he looks good. Especially the swing.
"I'm good. I'm healthy. It's smooth now," Polanco was telling me about his swing.
• More from Tomczyk: Erik Gonzalez does not have any on-field restrictions as he recovers from foot surgery, but he does have a little bit of a limp when he decelerates. That may delay the start of his spring training games a bit.
• Keone Kela reported feeling much better after missing practice Tuesday with a viral infection. If he feels better, he'll be back to full activities Thursday.
• Status quo for Chad Kuhl and Edgar Santana. Tomczyk said both are responding well to their spring workloads.
• More live batting practice and infield drills today. Camp is getting close to wrapping up. A little strange since it feels like it just started.
• Derek Shelton expects to name the starter for his first spring Thursday. That first game will be played Saturday.
• Who threw a side session Wednesday: Chris Archer, J.T. Brubaker, Chad Kuhl, Richard Rodriguez, Clay Holmes, Dovydas Neverauskas, Sam Howard, Nick Burdi, Tom Koehler, Blake Weiman, Robbie Erlin